Chelsea is a different team now. Since that giddying night in the Spanish capital they have lost two Premier League games with abject performances to match and seen their imperious position in Europe come under attack.

Conte is unhappy with the size of his squad and frustrated with key aspects of his life at Chelsea.

What really rammed it home is that those at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday watched Roma’s Radja Nainggolan boss the midfield – 24 hours after Conte admitted trying to sign him last summer.

Conte strikes you as a smart guy and banging on about injuries is his way of getting a message across to the board that he thinks they have let him down in the transfer market.

Antonio Conte reportedly had a falling out with chairman Roman Abramovich in the summer over club transfers

But what’s not clever is that rather than engaging in a slagging match with Mourinho, now lobbing grenades from his dugout in Manchester.

Conte should use his tactical brain and take advantage of the situation.

Mourinho has just opened up the whole debate about injuries and staffing levels, doing the job for him. If Conte has any sense he will play along with his arch-rival’s comments, pretending to dab a tear from his eye.

In doing so, he will put the ball firmly back in Mourinho’s court while also getting maximum publicity from an issue close to his heart.